Xponance Inc. Sells 83,368 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Xponance Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 56.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 83,368 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its holdings in NiSource by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank raised its position in NiSource by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.89.

NiSource Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE NI opened at $39.18 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.26 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $18.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Company Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.